A Home For Christmas

The Cowboy’s Family

Missy Porter knows all too well about losing a family, so she’ll do anything to keep cowboy Wade Snyder and his orphaned niece and nephew together. Even put her own plans of independence on hold—temporarily—to help care for the children during Christmas. But in helping to fix this family, she realizes she wants to be more than just the nanny.

Wade has never recovered from the unexpected loss of his wife. Now he doesn’t think he can be the family man that little Annie and Joey deserve. So he’s determined to find the children a loving adoptive home. But with Missy by his side, his long-forgotten dream of happily-ever-after might just be within reach…

“I would never settle for a marriage of convenience, which is what you are suggesting,” Missy said.

Wade lifted one shoulder. He hadn’t suggested it at all. He simply wanted her to stop hammering on her opinion that he should find a way to keep the children. “It’s what you’re suggesting on my behalf.”

“That’s different.”

“How?”

She didn’t get the opportunity to answer as in the distance, the house door banged shut.

She jerked her gaze away. “The children… Are you coming back in?”

When he didn’t answer, she met his look again, her eyes full of hopes and wishes and, as he looked deeper, a hint of a challenge. He averted his eyes before she could see his doubt, the depth of his failure, his sorrow, the emptiness of his heart.

If only he could allow himself to think of marrying again. It would enable him to keep the children.

But both were out of the question.

LINDA FORD lives on a ranch in Alberta, Canada, near enough to the Rocky Mountains that she can enjoy them on a daily basis. She and her husband raised fourteen children—four homemade, ten adopted. She currently shares her home and life with her husband, a grown son, a live-in paraplegic client and a continual (and welcome) stream of kids, kids-in-law, grandkids, and assorted friends and relatives.

A Home for Christmas

Linda Ford

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Sing to God, sing in praise of His name, extol Him who rides on the clouds; rejoice before Him—His name is the Lord. A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families.

—Psalms 68:4–6

To my readers: may you find the real joy that Christmas brings.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

About the Author

Title Page

Bible Verse

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Epilogue

Dear Reader

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

Christmas 1882 Eden Valley Ranch, Edendale, Alberta

“We aren’t having Christmas this year, are we, Uncle Wade?” Joey asked the question, but his sister, Annie, regarded Wade with both anxiety and accusation in her big brown eyes.

“Joey, I’m doing the best I can.” It was Christmas Day and Wade Snyder had failed to give the young children a home and a family. His failure hung about his shoulders like a water-soaked blanket.

Joey hung his head and mumbled under his breath, but Wade heard him. “That means no and we aren’t supposed to be upset.”

Wade had done everything he could to see that his recently orphaned niece and nephew were settled someplace for Christmas, but all his attempts of the past three months had met with failure. The Bauers, a couple from Fort Macleod who expressed an interest in adopting the pair, had failed to appear on the latest stagecoach. Instead, they’d sent a letter saying they would be there at a later date. One they failed to give him.

With that plan scuttled, he’d thought to spend the day with his friend Lane, a single man like himself, but Lane had other plans. He’d been invited to spend Christmas with a family that had recently moved in south of Lane and had a beautiful, marriageable-aged daughter.

As if those disappointments weren’t enough to contend with, Wade had encountered a young lady in Edendale who had overheard him explaining to the children that he would be leaving and they couldn’t go with him.

A pretty young thing with blue-green eyes and a halo of golden hair. Not that he’d given her more than a passing glance. She’d confronted him, her eyes flashing with a whole lot of emotions that he pretended not to notice.

“You need to give these children the assurance they aren’t a nuisance,” she’d said. “They’ve lost their parents. Shouldn’t that be reason enough to make a few sacrifices on their behalf?”

He’d edged past her before she could say more. How had she learned so much about the children in the few minutes he’d been in the store? And what did she know about what he should or shouldn’t do? Or what he could or could not do, for that matter? He hadn’t even been able to look after his wife, a full-grown woman. How could he hope to take care of two children? Besides, one would only have to take a look at his cowboy way of life to know he couldn’t give his niece and nephew a home.

He turned the wagon toward the west. For several turns of the wheels on the frozen ground he allowed himself to wish things could be different and he could keep Joey and little Annie. They were all the family he had left. But the plain and simple truth was he couldn’t care for them.

No, he’d do what was best for the kids.

Once the two were taken care of, he would ride up into the hills where his friend Stuart ran a ranch. Every year, after a few weeks visiting his sister and enjoying Christmas with her and her family, Wade took over for Stuart while he went south to visit his mother.

Every year, Stuart made him the same offer. “Throw in with me. We’ll be partners. It’s time you settled down.”

Every year, Wade refused. He’d once had a home of his own, a wife and dreams of a family. All his hopes had come crashing to an end when he discovered his wife dead in their bed. She’d taken her own life. He hadn’t even noticed how unhappy she was, had put down her frequent dark moods to the fact she’d failed to get pregnant. He’d done his best to console her and assure her she was all that mattered to him.

Her death taught him a valuable lesson. One he didn’t care to repeat. He couldn’t look after those he loved. Couldn’t judge what they needed. Wasn’t enough for them. So he rode all summer for some ranch outfit, spent Christmas with his sister and family, then took Stuart’s place on his ranch until spring, when Wade repeated the process. It was what he’d done for the past six of his twenty-six years.

Annie edged forward from the back of the wagon box where the pair had been sitting and perched her elbows on the bench. “Uncle Wade, do you like us?”

A groan tore from his heart but he swallowed back the sound. “Come here.” He pulled her to his lap. “You, too, Joey.” The boy climbed to the bench and crowded to Wade’s side.

Wade hugged them both. “I love you more than you’ll ever know.”

Annie nestled her head under his chin and sighed. “I miss Mama and Papa.” A sob stole the last of her words.

He tightened his arms around the pair. He missed his sister with an unending ache. “I know you do. I do, too.” Though his loss was but a fraction of theirs. “I tell you what. I’ll spend Christmas with you and we’ll have a real good time.”

He had purchased popping corn, ribbon candy and some gifts at Macpherson’s store. Wade pulled the wagon to a halt and, not knowing what the day might hold, handed them the gifts he’d purchased. Nothing much. A picture book for Annie and a pair of leather mittens with fringes for Joey.

The two smiled and thanked him, though their smiles seemed a little forced. Even a piece of the candy for each didn’t give them their usual joy. Presents and games wouldn’t replace a mama and a papa, but he’d do his best to help them have a good time. Handing out gifts in a wagon wasn’t a great start.

“I was afraid we wouldn’t have Christmas,” Annie whispered.

“We wouldn’t forget to celebrate the birth of baby Jesus.” He hadn’t told the pair what lay ahead for them except to say they couldn’t go with him. He was certain they’d welcome a new mama and papa, but he figured it was too soon after losing their own for them to see the wisdom of his decision. But hadn’t Susan’s last words been to demand a promise that he’d see they got a good home?

He turned off at the Eden Valley Ranch trail. Lane had said the people there welcomed strangers and people needing help. Well, he surely needed help if he was to give these kids the Christmas they deserved.

They approached the big house. Several wagons were drawn up to the door.

“Who lives here?” Joey asked as Annie clutched Wade’s arm.

“Nice people.” He figured they must be nice if they welcomed strangers.

“Do you know them?” Joey persisted.

“Only by reputation.”

The boy pressed into Wade’s side as if he meant to disappear. Wade’s heart squeezed out drops of sorrow and regret. He’d lost his sister and her husband to pneumonia. Susan had been his anchor since his wife died. Four years his senior, she was the only person in the world who made him believe in love and happiness. All that was left of her were her children. He loved them to the very depths of his soul and it about killed him to think of giving them up, but he must do what he’d promised. At that moment, Wade made himself another promise. He would do everything in his power to see that these kids had an extra-special Christmas before they got adopted by a new family.

He pulled the wagon to a halt and jumped down. As soon as the horses were tended to, he lifted the children from the wagon and, with one clutching each hand, crossed the few feet to the house. He stood there staring at the fine wooden door.

“Uncle Wade, aren’t you going to knock?” Annie asked.

Wade nodded. He had to do it. Had to have this one last Christmas with them, then let them go. He dropped Joey’s hand and rapped on the thick wood.

In a matter of seconds, the door opened. “Howdy, stranger, what can I do for you?” The man there looked and sounded friendly enough.

“I hear you help people.”

“We do if we can.”

“Then perhaps you’d let us spend Christmas with you. Me and these two children.”

“You’re more than welcome. Come right in.” He threw the door wide and ushered them inside.

Wade felt the eyes of a dozen people upon him but he noticed only one person.

The young lady from town who had scolded him royally. The flash in her eyes informed him she hadn’t changed her opinion of him. No doubt she’d see his visit as an opportunity to further chastise him.

His hopes for a pleasant Christmas lay whimpering at his feet.

* * *

Missy Porter’s mouth dropped open and she stared in a way that was most rude. At eighteen she knew better but she couldn’t help herself. It was that man. The one she’d spoken to in Edendale after overhearing a conversation between him and his niece and nephew. She’d paid his appearance scant attention then, but now gave it a thorough visual examination. He was tall and lean like an old piece of hickory. He wore a dusty cowboy hat and a denim winter coat, faded almost white where the sleeves folded when he bent his arms. She noticed a flash of blue as the light hit his eyes. When he took off his hat as soon as he stepped inside, his brown hair looked surprisingly well trimmed as if he’d recently visited a barber. But it was the determination in the set of his jaw that made her clamp her mouth shut and swallow loudly.

He was a hard man. One who would not understand the tender hearts of little children.

She shifted her attention to the two sweet children at his side. With dark brown eyes and dark brown hair, they were almost Spanish looking. The little boy did his best to look brave, while the girl blinked back tears.

Linette Gardiner, hostess and wife of the ranch owner, Eddie, rushed to the trio, her baby cradled in one arm. “Come in. Come in. Let me take your coats.” She waited while they shed their outerwear and hung it on the nearby hooks. “Now, whom do we have the pleasure of meeting?”

“Wade Snyder, ma’am, and this is my niece, Annie Lopez, and my nephew, Joey.”

“So pleased to meet you.” Linette squatted to eye level with the children. “Merry Christmas. I hope you like toys and food because that’s what’s in store for the day.”

“Oh, yes.” Little Annie’s eyes shone with joy.

Joey grinned widely, then his smile flattened. He leaned back. “Our mama and papa died and we thought we wouldn’t have Christmas this year.” He shot Wade an accusing look that echoed in Missy’s mind. From what she’d overheard, she knew he hadn’t planned on spending Christmas with them. It had sounded as if he planned to leave them and ride away. What kind of man would do that?

“I’m sorry to hear about your mama and papa.” Linette met Wade’s eyes.

“My sister and her husband,” he explained.

Linette paused, her hand pressed to her chest as if feeling a sympathetic pain, then turned back to the children. “How old are you two?”

“I’m seven,” said the boy. “My sister is five.”

“Then you’ll fit right in with the other children. Grady is almost six.” She indicated the crowd of children playing in one corner.

Joey and Annie clung to Wade’s leg.

Linette straightened and stepped back. “When you feel like it, you can join them. In the meantime, come and meet everyone.” She introduced Eddie first, then started around the large circle. There were so many young couples—Roper Jones and his wife, Cassie, who had arrived in Linette’s company a little over a year ago. Grace and Ward Walker, who lived on a little ranch nearby. Eddie’s sister, Jayne, and her new husband, Seth Collins.

As they continued around the circle, introducing yet more newlyweds—Sybil and Brand Duggan, Mercy and Abel Borgard, Blue and Clara Lyons—Missy began to wonder how it was that so many had met and fallen in love on the ranch. She began to suspect there had been active matchmaking going on.

Her own sister-in-law, Louise, had married Nate Hawkins back in Montana, but it wasn’t until they reached the ranch that their love became real, which half confirmed the suspicions about the ranch’s role in romance. As for herself, Missy had no intention of joining the couples in matrimony.

An older pair was likewise introduced. Cookie and her husband, Bertie, ran the cookhouse.

As they were introduced, each one murmured condolences to Wade and the children, until Missy wondered how the children could stand to hear it one more time.

Missy sat at the far corner. She’d be the last to be introduced and she could hardly draw in a breath as they drew closer to her. All too soon they stood before her.

“And this is Missy Porter,” Linette said.

Wade’s eyes grew icy and she knew he recognized her. She’d spoken out of turn when she saw him in town. But when she’d heard him inform the children that he’d make sure they were in a safe place before he left, and when she’d heard their voices break as they confessed how they missed the mama and papa they’d so recently lost, an avalanche of unwanted memories had slammed into her. She’d been thirteen when she encountered the same emotion. She would never forget the shock of listening to the preacher explain that her parents had died in an accident.

“The horses bolted and the wagon flipped.” The preacher had said more, but Missy stopped listening. The details were too dreadful to hear.

Her brother, Gordie, was not yet eighteen and he’d not been pleased at being saddled with a younger sister to care for. He never let her forget that she was the reason he couldn’t live the life he wanted. Not that he did much caring. She took over the cooking and cleaning. He took over earning money to keep them, but soon he hooked up with Vic Hector, a very unlikable man in Missy’s opinion, who convinced Gordie there were easier ways to make money. By “easier,” he meant on the shady side of the law.

When Gordie married Louise and she moved in, Missy had truly gained a sister. They shared the household duties and became friends. But now Gordie was dead by a gunshot wound during one of his and Vic’s escapades. Louise had remarried and Missy was about to be on her own. She meant to face the future without depending on anyone else.

Except God, she added quickly, lest He think she was being prideful. She certainly didn’t mean to be. No, she wasn’t going anyplace without God.

There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that He had carried them safely on the journey from Rocky Creek, Montana, through a snowstorm and bitter cold. God had protected Louise and baby Chloe from Vic, who’d thought he owned them and Missy. She shivered at the memory of how Vic had treated her, trying to get her alone, and when he did, pressing against her in corners. Then he’d moved into the Porter house and both Missy and Louise knew he’d be taking advantage of the situation. So they’d fled to Eden Valley Ranch.

Never again would Missy allow herself to be made to feel she was an unwelcome burden. No more having others tell her what to do and what not to do, where to go and when and how. No, she had plans that would prevent that.

Before her, the newcomer named Wade tipped his head, breaking into her thoughts. “Nice to make your acquaintance, miss.”

She knew she wasn’t mistaken in hearing a mocking tone in his words. Hopefully, the others didn’t notice. She tipped her head in response. “Likewise, I’m sure.”

A flicker of his eyelids informed her he understood her silent message that she was as thrilled as he to be forced to spend Christmas together. Which was not at all.

She turned her attention to the children, wanting to let them know she understood how alone and afraid they were at the moment. “I, too, lost my mama and papa when I was a child.”

“What happened to them?” Annie asked, her eyes big with curiosity.

“There was an accident.”

The children nodded solemnly.

Joey released a long sigh that ended in a shudder. “Our mama and papa got sick and died.” He studied her. “When did yours die?”

“Four years ago.” Four and a half and a bit. She used to count the months and weeks and days, but had stopped doing that. Nothing would make her forget them but she had to face the future.

Missy rested her hand over the pocket that contained a piece of paper. She did not need to see it to know what it said.

Miss Evans offers young ladies the opportunity to become self-sufficient and earn twice the salary of a public schoolteacher. You’ll learn how to operate a typewriter. Become a secretary and you will be able to get a job anywhere.

Missy had sent in a deposit from the coins she’d been saving for her future. The next class was to begin in March in Toronto, which left her three months to earn the rest of the cost of tuition.

She allowed the tiniest smile to curve her mouth. She’d soon be independent. Her future would be in her hands, not in the hands of others. A shiver trickled down her spine. Like these children, she knew how it felt to lose important people in her life. It was best to be on her own. That way she wouldn’t have to deal with the pain of losing anyone else.

“Ours died a little time ago.” Tears rushed to Joey’s eyes.

These children needed so much care and tenderness at the moment. Turning her gaze back to Wade, Missy felt her smile flatten, her lips curl downward. He had made it clear he didn’t want these children. Perhaps he was sending them to relatives—kinder, more loving people. She certainly hoped so.

Annie rocked forward, seeking her attention.

“What is it, child?” Missy asked.

“Did you have Christmas without your mama and papa?”

Missy knew what the child meant. “I missed them terribly. I still do. But I know they would want me to be happy, especially at Christmas.”

Annie nodded, satisfied with the answer. “I think so, too.”

Wade took his niece’s hand. “Come along, Annie. You shouldn’t bother the lady.”

Missy’s insides curled at the way Wade made it sound as if she didn’t welcome Annie’s questions. Ignoring his warning glance, she brushed her hand over the girl’s shoulder. “You’re not a bother to me.”

Right then and there, she promised herself she would do everything in her power to make this a Christmas Day these children would remember with joy.

* * *

The only place left for Wade to sit was next to Missy. He almost refused Linette’s invitation to be seated, but he had asked to be included in their Christmas. Seemed it meant enduring Missy’s narrow-eyed looks. He plunked onto the chair and pulled Annie to his lap. Joey sat on the floor in front of him, watching the other children playing.

Annie turned to regard Missy. “You live here?”

“I’m only visiting. Louise is my sister-in-law.” She pointed out a young woman with a tiny baby in her arms and a man hovering adoringly at her side. “She and Nate are going to live at his ranch as soon as he fixes the cabin.”

Wade fleetingly wondered if Missy would be living with them.

Annie reached out and fingered the fabric of Missy’s dress. “I like your gown. It feels nice.”

“It’s satin. Royal blue was my mama’s favorite color. I like to wear it and remember her.”

Annie leaned forward. “Mama’s favorite color was pink. I like pink, too. Maybe I’ll get a pink dress when I get big. I gots a pink sweater she knitted me. It’s my favorite thing.”

It was the most Annie had talked since her parents died. Before that she had been a regular chatterbox.

She turned to Wade. “Where’s my pink sweater?”

He had no idea. The neighboring women had helped him pack up the children’s things. “I expect it’s in one of your bags.”

“In the wagon?”

“Yes. Everything is under a tarp.” He wanted to reassure her that her belongings were safe.

“Oh.” The one syllable was both a question and a demand.

“We’ll find it later.”

“Oh.” Disappointment and reluctant patience colored her voice. How could a little girl pack so much meaning into one small word? But Annie had always been good at letting her feelings be known.

She turned back to Missy. “If you don’t live here, where do you live?”

Even though they didn’t touch and he didn’t look directly at her, Wade felt the young woman stiffen. Why did such an ordinary question cause such a reaction?

“I’m staying here for now. And then...well, I’ll find something else.” Beneath the cheerful words ran a river of uncertainty that made Wade tighten his arms around Annie lest she feel it, too.

But he couldn’t prevent the child’s understanding. “That’s like us. We’re going someplace but I don’t know where. Only that Uncle Wade is leaving us and going...” She lifted her hands in a dramatic show of I-don’t-know.

The gesture made him ache. As did her words. If only he could give them specifics as to their future, but at this point, he had none to give. Please, God. Make their adoption work out. Sooner would be better than later.